Former N.Y. Giants Star Begins Walk Across Country

New York Giants Star George Martin has begun a walk across the United States.  The Former Captain of the 1987 New York Giants Superbowl team is planning on raising awareness for the victims and families of the 9/11 tragedy.

He said that he grew up being a hero in a kids game but the real heroes of the world are not getting the credit they deserve.  George Martin has decided to do something about it.

He began his walk at the George Washington Bridge in New York.  The bridge connects Manhatten to New Jersey and he is hoping that his walk will be finalized at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA in about 4 months.

George Martin is hoping to keep a 30 mile a day pace all while trying to raise $10 million for the families and victims of September 11.

The Adventurist wishes Mr. Martin good luck, but one has to wonder..why did he not start this earlier in the summer?  Seems like the winter will be catching up to Martin in the days ahead.

Charles Duerig, 50, Avid Climber for 30 Years, Falls to Death in California–UPDATED

Sad news coming from WTAE Channel 4 out of Pittsburgh today.  Charles Duerig, while climbing with his brother in California, slipped in rainy conditions and fell to his death yesterday.  His family is from the Pittsburgh area.

Duerig had been an avid climber in the United States and Europe for over 30 years.

For more on this sad story, head on over to the WTAE-4 Website.  I will bring you more as I find out.

UPDATE–08/31/07–1:35 pm

At this time it is being reported  in the SummitPost Forum that Mr. Duerig had fallen in the vincinty of Mt. Hamilton, a 14,000 foot peak near Mt. Whitney in the Sierra.  This accident is being reported as happening this past Sunday, but has just hit the waves.  Mr. Duerig was a well known marathon runner and climber, hailing from Castro Valley.

The 50-year-old Duerig was climbing the mountain with a friend Sunday when the two became separated.

After the friend reported Duerig missing, searchers found his body at the bottom of a canyon at the 12,500-foot level.

Authorities believe he fell 100 feet after trying to anchor himself to a rock, and probably died immediately.

Duerig was an avid climber who had led numerous rock climbs in Yosemite and elsewhere in the Sierra, as well as in Canada and on mountains in Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia

Was just reading the California wires and came across this. My condolences to his family and friends.

Once again, this was featured over at the SummitPost forum where there continues to be new information emerging.

Mr. Duerig, as posted by another reader, had recently taken part in the Skyline 50k.

Let’s all keep Charles’ family, friends, and associates in our thoughts and prayers.

The Adventurist: A Call to All Outdoor Writers and Photographers!

I have just put the finishing touches on a new “Submit & Contact” Page here at The Adventurist.  I am hoping that this new feature will be accepted and used by all of my great readers.

This page goes into detail about a few things I am looking for here at The Adventurist–and ways you might be able to get involved.

Do you love Adventure Writing or perhaps Great Outdoors Photography?–Help me share your incredible talents with a much bigger audience!

Head on Over to the “Submit & Contact” Page, found on a tab right up above this article, and Share your Adventures with the World!

Also, if you are looking to put me to work, there is info there as well….

Cheers-

J. Alan Hendricks, Editor

Mt. Everest Pioneer, Ernest Hofstetter, Dies at 95

Ernest Hofstetter, a leading member of a Swiss Expedition team that nearly summited one year before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the first successful summit of Mt. Everest in 1953, has died.

Upon Sir Edmund Hillary’s successful summit the following year, Hillary sent the swiss team a note telling them that they had done half of the work for him.

The Swiss Expedition Team, that Ernest Hofstetter was a proud member of, seemingly paved the route that a year later Hillary and Norgay would use to make their summit a success.

For more on the incredible 1952 Swiss Expedition up Mt. Everest, Click Here.

Ernest Hofstetter will be missed by the climbing community world wide and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Everest 2007 Update: Mass Exodus For Summit, as Day 2 Summit Push Begins

Day two is shaping up to be busier than today as far as Everest and the push for the summit go.

From the North Side, there will possibly be another 50-60 people attempting the climb up the North Ridge Route, and from the South, many are expecting the same.

Here are the teams to look for:

From the North

The female team of Philipines are sitting at 8300 meters now and are planning their final push tonight.  Also on the North, Cato Pederson, will be planning his “Unarmed” Everest Push has he tries to make a successfull summit attempt after losing both of his arms many years ago.  Other teams:

Manny Pizzaro, SummitClimb (second phase), Scottish Scouts, Nives Meroi and Romana Benet, as well as Kari Kobler to name a few…

From the South Col

Supersherpas, who will be ascending around 9 pm tonight, IMG, Adventure Consultants, Exploradus…all of them are in the works to make an attempt, if not tonight, then definately by morning.

The Weather

As mentioned earlier today, many expeditions and climbers are predicting a small 48 hour window here before bad weather sets back in.  Many teams are trying a scramble for the top, while others are trying to use their “sixth sense” and hope for a better opportunity and hopefully less crowds as well..

It is noted that after David Tait successfully crossed from the North Ridge to The South Col and eventually down to Camp 2–that the teams on the South have been busy, busy.  David was able to break trail and fix the rest of the ropes that the South needed in order to finish their push to the summit.   The South now has plenty of trail to follow and ropes leading their way..

Great job David on making this all possible and jumpstarting the South Summit Push as well..

As Always I will bring you the latest as I hear it.

Sir Edmund Hillary: Your Thoughts, Your Prayers

It is being widely reported today that Sir Edmund Hillary has been injured in a fall.  Sir Hillary was the first person, along with his climbing sherpa Tenzing Norgay, to summit Mt. Everest.  It has been noted that Hillary is not suffering “Life-Threatening” injuries and that his progress is going well.

Hillary is 87 years old and has recently taken up walking with a cane.  It is also being reported that Sir Edmund Hillary has been suffering from High Altitude Sickness for a number of years now.

In due respect for what Sir Edmund Hillary has come to mean and represent in the climbing community, I thought that it would be a good time for all of my loyal readers here at The Adventurist to wish Sir Edmund Hillary the best.  Today we keep you in all of our thoughts and prayers! 

You, the reader, may post your thoughts, prayers, and good wishes upon Sir Edmund Hillary here, as we all come together to wish him a fast recovery

Sir Edmund Hillary’s Last Trek to Nepal….April 18, 2007

The SuperSherpas camp is saying that Apa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa were summoned to a meeting with Miss Elizabeth Hawley–the famed Everest Journalist for the likes of Time Magazine and many other World-wide media outlets for the past 30 years.

Upon reaching Miss Hawley’s abode, Apa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa were surprised to find none other than Sir Edmund Hillary–the first summiter of Mt. Everest.

Roger Kehr, The SuperSherpas Basecamp manager had this to say about the meeting:

“Elizabeth Hawley invited us over to gather information about the expedition and we were unbelievably surprised that Sir Edmund Hillary was there as her guest. We were honored when he said that this may be his last trip to Nepal.”

Sir Edmund Hillary is now 87 years old.  Last year Hillary made news when he spoke out about the tragic death of David Sharp and the failure of fellow climber’s to stop and help.  Yes, he is 87–but still as outspoken as ever.

It is kind of a sad day to think that Sir Edmund Hillary will probably not be taking any more trips from his home in New Zealand to his second love, Nepal and the Himalayas.

This story has not been played in the media as yet, and it is truly a surprise as this could very well be a meeting between the greatest climbers to ever lay foot on Everest.  One the one hand you have Sir Edmund Hillary–the World’s first summiter of Everest and on the other, you have Apa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa…combined they have summited Everest a total of 29 times, with Apa currently holding the record of most summits with 16, and Lhakpa Gelu, a previous World’s Fastest Ascent Record Holder..and a 13 time summiter.

A meeting of the minds….the stories they could share….and quite possibly the last meeting of it’s kind with this group of Everest greats.

Sir Edmund Hillary had this to say about the SuperSherpa Expedition to put Apa and Lhakpa Gelu once again on the summit for the cause of the Sherpa people and and the people of Nepal in general:

“it was was easy to devote his energy [to this latest trip to Nepal from his home in New Zealand] because of his love for the Sherpa people”.

A very historical and significant momment to be sure.

The Complete Coverage! Everest 2007!

The Complete Coverage!  Everest 2007!  Click here!

As many of you might know, a couple of months back I mentioned that I would be setting up a Page on The Adventurist for the Everest 2007 Climbing season.

This page will be similar to the page covering the Mt. Hood Tragedy I covered in 2006 offering up all the links and stories as we publish them in one easily located space.

What this does is it allows all of my loyal readers an easier way to follow along with the Everest 2007 season as it happens, as well as lets you keep track of what HAS happened up to the latest story.  At the top of this site, you will now see a headline that reads “The Complete Coverage!  Everest 2007!  Click Here!”, by clicking this, you will now have access to every story concerning the 2007 Everest Climbing season.

I hope you enjoy this convenient way of staying on track with the happenings on Everest this season.  It is really shaping up to be a great season with many stories breaking daily.  You will now find them all here!

World Speedboat Record Attempt Turns Tragic for “Earthrace”

Captain Peter Bethune, piloting “Earthrace”, a 78 foot trimaran-biodiesel powered speedboat in an effort to break an Around the World Speedboat speed record has crashed.

The collision occured off of Guatamala’s Pacific Coast as the $3 million dollar speedboat slammed into a Guatamalan fishing skiff–leaving one fisherman missing and another seriously wounded.

Captain Peter Bethune stated that all of his crew were ok and that after the collision he dove into the Pacific to try to rescue the missing fisherman, but that the fisherman went under the water before Bethune could get to him.

The four crew members of the Speedboat team were taken to a military base for further questioning in the incident.

Army Spokesman Daniel Dominguez stated that the army is currently conducting a search and rescue effort for the 51 year old missing fisherman, Julio David Galiano Contreres.

Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald quoted Bethune as saying that the fishing boat did not have any lights on at the time of the accident, but in a later interview, Bethune neither denied nor confirmed having mentioned this previously.  Captain Bethune, speaking to the AP press would only say that he and his crew have been told to not talk about the incident until they are seen by a Guatamalan judge.

The needle-nosed trimaran “Earthrace” has been attempting to break the world record for the fastest around the world trip by a speedboat.  This record attempt is being filmed for the Discovery Channel, but it is not known whether this incident was caught on film.

This is not the first problem that Earthrace has encountered in the past couple of days in this record attempt. Around Panama the props began to fail, and the crew was also fired upon by the Columbian Navy in a case of mistaken identity.

This Around the World record attempt began on March 10–The vessel is trying to make it around the world in under 75 days.

Captain Bethune stated that the crew of “Earthrace”, along with himself, would probably have to stay in Guatamala, at least till weeks end trying to get this all sorted out.  “Earthrace” suffered minimal damage and is currently docked at a Guatamalan Naval Base in Puerto San Jose, Guatamala.

The Discovery Channel Website claims that “Earthrace” is composed of carbon and kevlar with a top speed on biodiesel of 56 mph.  This craft is registered out of New Zealand.

Got an Adventure to Tell? Tell Your Story Here!

Once in awhile I like to open up a post to let you, my readers, have a voice….I want to know YOUR Personal Adventure Story.  This is your chance to let the world know how cool you are and at the same time, maybe it will influence others to go out there and live that Adventure they have been dreaming about!

You may post ANY adventure, not just climbing…I am looking for hiking, kayaking, extreme sports, hunting, fishing,…anything outdoors that you had a great time doing and discovering… Read more

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